Samsung Galaxy Nexus Dazzles Prior to Verizon Wireless Release Date

A new report out this week shows 23 million smartphones were shipped in the U.S. in Q3 2011. That number is sure to jump in preparation of people buying the devices for the holiday season. And if the pre-release popularity of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is any indication, the Nexus will make up about half of those shipments.

Sure, I exaggerate. But the buzz about the Nexus confounds me. New gadgets and devices aren't the heart and soul of the news we follow on this website, but we certainly keep you apprised of what's going on in this arena and the impact it has on service providers. Interest in our stories about the Nexus has consistently outpaced those we've done about the iPhone this fall, with the main exception being a posting we did the day that the iPhone 4S release date was announced.

Samsung and Verizon Wireless apparently have the hype machine really dialed up – and it's all about Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Google's Android operating system, which debuts on the Nexus. (Some customers already are getting their bite of the sandwich in Europe, where it's debuted with a few carriers.) ICS, which combines the Android smartphone and tablet OSs into one, includes easier-to-create folders, virtual buttons in the user interface, widget separation, a customizable launcher, offline search ... the list goes on.

But for those who aren't junkies tied to the intricacies of Android's upgrades, this phone doesn't seem to deliver anything more extraordinary than what's available on some other handset debuts this fall, such as the Motorola Droid Bionic or the HTC Rezound. (However, I say that, noting that all of these phones are pretty incredible.) Nonetheless, behold the power of the Ice Cream Sandwich; many other recent, high-end smartphone releases are expected to get the ICS upgrade after the first of the year.

The Nexus comes with a large, 4.65-inch touchscreen; a 1.2GHz, dual-core processor; a pair of cameras; and will run on VzW's super-fast LTE network, the ninth such handset to do so. Samsung earlier this week confirmed that the release – originally slated for November – would be delayed until next month, but would still be available to sneak into Christmas stockings. Dec. 8 seems to be the most popular prediction date, particularly because the 8th has been confirmed for the Nexus' debut in Canada.

This phone, like many other Android devices before it, will of course be compared – fair or not – to Apple's iconic iPhone, which continues to lead the pack in terms of sales. And while none has stacked up until now, this pre-release frenzy makes me believe it will come the closest yet.

Although news about this phone seems to be changing by the hour, we published a slide show last week documenting the history of this possibly-soon-to-be-epic device. Check that out here. And if you happen to be one of those Nexus junkies, you can follow V2M's continuing coverage here.